Johnny Murtagh hopes to return to the saddle on Thursday despite a foot injury that kept him out of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
The former champion jockey has had four stitches in his foot, injured following a fall in the last race at the Curragh on Saturday from his mount True Crystal.
"There are no bones broken but it was a bit sore," Murtagh, who had been booked for Little Rock in the big French race, said yesterday.
"My horse clipped heels and went down but I think it was her back leg that caught me. I hope to pass the doctor on Thursday but I'll have to see how things knit together. It could have been a lot worse though," he added.
Murtagh had been due to miss out on racing today and the next couple of days due to the suspension he picked up on Daliapour in Canada the previous weekend.
From a championship point of view, the timing could hardly be worse as this afternoon's fixture at Roscommon could see Pat Smullen extend his lead over Murtagh even further.
Smullen is five clear in the table on the 72-winner mark and both divisions of the mile and a quarter maiden look ripe for the current title holder to pick courtesy of the Dermot Weld pair, Ballerine and Turtle Dancer.
The top equine name of the day, however, will be the Irish National hero Davids Lad who makes his first start since May in the conditions chase over two miles.
The trip is hardly ideal for Timmy Murphys's mount but he does have 17lb in hand of Feathered Leader on the ratings.
The novice chase has attracted a small field and where the smart handicap hurdler Masalarian should prove hard to beat. Arthur Moore's horse ran fourth to Ansar in the Galway Hurdle off 127 and should have too much speed in the closing stages for Michael Mor.
Ansar had a splendid pipe-opener for the Tote Cesarewitch at Newmarket when winning the McManus Memorial Hurdle at Tipperary yesterday.
Relishing the soft ground that did not suit the favourite Grimes, Ansar asserted his superiority running to the final flight in the hands of leading rider Paul Carberry to follow up his Guinness Hurdle success at Galway for Dermot Weld.
Hurdling quicker than Grimes, Ansar joined the leaders rounding the last bend and Carberry took control at the last on this versatile performer to win by five lengths.
